Lamb’s late heroics lift Panthers to win

December 14, 2018 | 1:07 am

Updated December 14, 2018 | 1:07 am

Emma Johnson goes in for a basket for Kentucky Wesleyan in their win over Walsh University on Thursday. | Photo by Ryan Richardson

Jenna Martin drove to the paint and kicked out to Keelie Lamb, who buried the game-winning 3-pointer with 9 seconds to play. At the other end, Lamb stole the inbounds pass, securing an 82-81 come-from-behind home victory over Walsh University for the Kentucky Wesleyan women’s basketball team.

It was a game of runs Thursday night for the Panthers (5-3, 3-1 G-MAC) and Cavaliers (7-3, 4-1), and the two halve largely mimicked one another. A 22-13 lead for Walsh after one quarter grew to as much as a 12-point advantage, but Wesleyan closed the half strong to go up 36-34 at the break.

Kentucky Wesleyan College vs. Walsh University | Photo by Ryan Richardson
Kentucky Wesleyan College vs. Walsh University | Photo by Ryan Richardson

The Cavaliers came out of the locker room hot, using runs of 11-2 and 12-4 to gain their biggest lead at 14 points, and they were up 62-49 entering the final frame.

Wesleyan still trailed by 11 points with 4:58 to play when a layup by Lamb sparked a 9-0 run for the Panthers. The teams traded buckets, and the score was tied three times in the final two minutes.

Co-head coach Caleb Nieman said he gave the same speech at the end of the game as he did just before halftime, and he had plenty of confidence they could win.

“It was just like the first half,” he said. “We were in the same predicament, so we knew we could get out of it.”

With timeouts to spare, Nieman decided to keep them in his pocket because he thought the fast pace played to the Panthers’ advantage.

“We felt like the tempo of the game was going in our favor,” he said. “That’s what happened in the first half. We called one timeout to set up our defense, and the rest of the time we just trusted what the kids do in practice to find each other and find open shots.”

Kentucky Wesleyan College vs. Walsh University | Photo by Ryan Richardson
Kentucky Wesleyan College vs. Walsh University | Photo by Ryan Richardson

After the second missed free throw in an eight-second span by Walsh, the Panthers capitalized with the go-ahead 3-pointer from Lamb.

“We always focus on our energy,” Lamb said. “We didn’t really pay attention to the scoreboard. We just stuck with what we usually do and were going to fight no matter what.”

Not only did Wesleyan hand Walsh their first conference loss, but it avenged the Panthers’ three losses last year to the Cavaliers — the last of which came in the G-MAC tournament.

“Coming from last year when they beat us twice and knocked us out of the conference (tournament), it was a huge game,” Lamb said. “Now we’re looking forward to our next conference game Saturday.”

The Panthers remain home Saturday to host Malone University at noon in the final conference game of December.

While it’s not always about winning or losing for Kentucky Wesleyan, Nieman said taking down Walsh will still help the team moving forward.

“I think it is a big confidence builder,” he said. “They do a lot of similar things that we do. We really respect each other and I respect their program. It’s a big win.”

Stats: Kaylee Clifford (20 points, 6 rebounds), Keelie Lambe (13 points), Kelsey Ivers (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), Kaylee Duncan (9 points, 4 assists), Shayla Wright (9 points), Emma Johnson (8 points), Jenna Martin (6 points, 4 assists), Lily Grimes (4 points), Cali Nolot (2 points), Leah Richardson (1 point, 4 rebounds)

December 14, 2018 | 1:07 am

Share this Article

Other articles you may like